Hudson River Tunnel clean up complete, expanded service begins between NJ and NY

Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passengers will be offered expanded service between New York City and New Jersey beginning Monday, November 12,

following a massive clean-up and repairs in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, within the East River and Hudson River tunnel system.

The service will allow for the expanded, combined operation of 24 Amtrak and NJ Transit trains per hour in both directions, or about 63 percent of normal weekday capacity. It also doubles the present operating plan of 12 trains per hour between New York and New Jersey. A normal peak is approximately 38 combined trains per hour in both directions.

"The opening of the East River and Hudson River tunnels reflects the tireless efforts of both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit to restore this vitally important transportation link into and out of Penn Station," said Joe Boardman, president and CEO, Amtrak. "Each agency has committed all of its available resources to this recovery effort and we will continue to work together until full service can be restored."

Amtrak and NJ Transit personnel drained more than three million gallons of salt water from Amtrak's Hudson River and East River Tunnels in Sandy's aftermath. The next step in the restoration plan is to address the existing damage to an Amtrak substation located in Kearny, N.J. Flood damage to this power generation source has limited rail capacity on the Northeast Corridor. With the restoration of this substation expected to continue into the coming weeks, rail service into and out of New York Penn Station will continue to remain limited.